Protein Industries Canada has invested in a new project to upcycle beer industry waste into high-value ingredients, including sustainable proteins, fibres, and cocoa extenders.
Can beer really be the solution to all our (food system) problems?
A host of companies around the world are working on processes that turn brewers’ spent grain (BSG), the main sidestream of beer production, into high-value, low-carbon ingredients.
In Canada, Terra Bioindustries and Great Western Brewing Company are the latest to embrace this effort, in a C$1.1M ($800,000) project partly backed by the federal government.
Protein Industries Canada, one of the government’s five innovation clusters, has invested C$486,000 ($350,000) in the initiative, targeting the creation of proteins, fibre, cocoa alternatives and sweeteners by upcycling BSG. The remaining funding comes from industry partners.
“This project is a strong example of how Canada can make more food here, creating more value from the crops and co-products we already produce,” said Protein Industries Canada CEO Tyler Groeneveld, noting that transforming BSG into these ingredients would boost the domestic supply chain.
“That is exactly the kind of innovation that will grow Canada’s food production capacity, while creating new economic opportunities here at home,” he added.
Brewing proteins, fibres and cocoa extenders from beer waste
The solid residue from malted barley after brewing beer, BSG makes up 85% of the waste emanating from the brewing industry – each year, 36.4 million tonnes of the byproduct is manufactured globally.
Though much of BSG gets repurposed into animal feed (accounting for 70% of its use), biofuel production or compost, a substantial portion still ends up in landfill, emitting harmful greenhouse gases like methane and carbon.
However, turning this into a protein source could lower greenhouse gas emissions and food waste, tackle food shortages, and boost nutrition security.
Terra Bioindustries has developed a platform that gently breaks open spent grains, converting their tough outer layer into sugars. The separated protein is turned into a dried plant-based protein ingredient, and the sugars are concentrated into feedstock for precision fermentation.
The 2019-founded startup has evolved from bench scale to the product validation stage, and is now working with brewing, grain processing, food manufacturing and precision fermentation partners.
It will leverage its proprietary technology to convert Great Western Brewing Company’s BSG into four new ingredients. Terra Protina is a high-protein concentrate that tastes like bread, lowers carb content, and boosts protein and fibre in applications like baked goods, pasta, and snacks.
Terra Fibra is a high-fibre flour with over 60% dietary fibre and a mild malty flavour, whereas Terra Choc is a cocoa extender targeting the booming alt-chocolate space. Finally, Terra Malt is a toffee-like barley malt syrup that adds flavour, sweetness and a natural caramel colour in sauces, confectionery, brewed drinks, and more.
Each ingredient can serve as a low-carbon base for food and beverage products. Great Western Brewing Company, for instance, will use Terra Malt to make a non-alcoholic beer. It will leverage the syrup’s low fermentable sugar content to reduce alcohol production during fermentation.
Zero-waste solution brings financial benefits for companies
“By separating proteins, fibres, sugars, and flavour compounds, we are able to use all of the BSG while concentrating the nutritional or functional qualities separately,” said Rebecca Palmer, chief marketing officer of Terra Bioindustries.
“The ingredients are more versatile, production is more efficient, and nothing is wasted. Projects like this allow us to not only test Terra Malt as an ingredient but to create a truly circular system that celebrates Canada’s grains,” she added.
Great Western Brewing Company CFO Brendan Halbgewachs noted: “This project means thousands of dollars staying in our business – funds we can put back into our recent investment in innovation, strengthen our operations, and support good local jobs. This investment helps us reinvest in our people and continue giving back to our community.”
Several other companies are working on converting beer waste into valuable ingredients. Swiss startup Yeastup has opened an industrial-scale facility to repurpose spent brewer’s yeast into proteins and functional ingredients. And France’s Yeasty has discovered a way to remove the bitterness from brewer’s yeast, producing a flour for alternative protein, pet food, and nutrition products.
Elsewhere, scientists at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University have developed a method to extract over 80% of the proteins from brewers’ spent grain, an ingredient that also serves as the base for ProteinDistillery’s egg-white-like fermented ingredient, Prew:tein.
The Canadian government, meanwhile, has been ramping up its investment in alternative proteins, having committed C$353M for Protein Industries Canada between 2018 and 2028. Last week, the innovation cluster financed part of a C$15.1M ($10.9M) project to scale up the production of whole-cut meat and seafood alternatives.
“By connecting Canadian creativity with Terra’s technology, this initiative will strengthen our domestic food supply chain and reinforce Canada’s leadership in sustainability and innovation,” Mélanie Joly, the federal minister of industry, said about the beer waste upcycling initiative.
“Supported by Protein Industries Canada, one of Canada’s global innovation clusters, this project is a shining example of how we can build a more resilient food sector – one that produces high-quality ingredients while minimising environmental impact.”
